deekaygee

in which there is some lamentation, but also some gratitude

as i come closer to the so-called middle age, turning 33 in a little under a month, there are certain aspects of my personality that i’ve come to accept as having very little chance of changing. among them, i am by nature shy and an introvert.

from my earliest memories to everything older family members have told me, it seems like it’s always just been this way. at family gatherings as a youth, i’d always want to go to a quiet place and draw, and just be with my imagination. to this day, i’d much rather be by myself or with a select few than mingling at a party or a bar among strangers. it’s probably why i have so much trouble meeting new people. it’s also why i do prefer email and instant messenger. in person i can be inadvertently awkward, but in the written word i know i can be articulate.

the reason i bring this up is that sometime in the future i’m planning to move to a different city & state, and that actually kind of energizes me. for whatever reason, i’ve never quite been able to thrive in my hometown. quick example story: about 8 years ago i spent time travelling abroad by myself in australia & new zealand, and lived for about 3 months in sydney. the place i ended up living in was a house full of other travellers (all complete strangers), about 12 of us in total. the day i moved in i had gotten my tongue pierced and it was almost impossible to talk. coupled with the fact that i am shy & introverted, i should have pretty much been a loner in the house for all my days there. but to my surprise it was quite the opposite: i was liked, gregarious, and had a blast meeting new people. i’m still in contact with friends i met then.

on my own, i guess i’m forced to put myself out there. but back “home” amongst family and old friends with whom i have a long history with, i suppose i don’t feel i need to really flex my social muscles much. perhaps i just need to meet strangers in my home town. i love my family and friends, but i’ve come to realize the truth that maybe only on my own i “dance like no one’s watching”.

it’s hard being shy and introverted in a world where aggression is rewarded and extroversion is the rule of the day. but most times i’m glad i am who i am, content to be left for hours on end by myself or with just a couple of people i know well.

to tell you the truth, i’m glad i can find the silliness in physically cringing when extroverts do their thing so loudly (to my eyes & ears) and broadcast their need for attention.

summer ‘09 mixtape: long days, pleasant nights

summer ‘09 mixtape: long days, pleasant nights (47:36, 65mb zip)

with summer pretty much in full swing now, this short mixtape was put together to accompany a weekend poolside bbq that ended up getting cancelled. rather than waste a short little mix of indie rock and dance flavored with a little hip hop and a just a dash of 70s and 90s, i thought i’d share it with you. enjoy. keep the caipirinhas flowing, and don’t forget to flip the burgers.

ten kens - spanish fly
ten kens
itunes | amazon
——> bonus animated video!

la roux - quicksand
la roux
itunes | amazon

cut copy - feel the love
in ghost colours
itunes | amazon

white town - your woman
women in technology
itunes | amazon

rye rye feat. m.i.a. - bang
itunes | amazon

starlight mints - zoomba
change remains
itunes | amazon

the mae shi - run to your grave
hlllyh
itunes | amazon

the heavy - colleen
great vengeance and furious fire
itunes | amazon

yummy bingham feat. jadakiss - come get it
itunes | amazon

passion pit - little secrets
manners
itunes | amazon

fol chen - cable tv
part i: john shade, your fortune’s made
itunes | amazon

one eskimo - kandi
amazon
——> bonus animated video!

kool & the gang - summer madness
light of worlds
itunes | amazon

single serving review: the escapist

presented as a straightforward prison break movie, the british film the escapist is a gritty portrayal of cramped prison life executed with high-intensity cuts and a very fast-paced story. well, two stories actually: the lead up to the prison break is told in flashback while simultaneously showing the tense break in progress.

veteran actor brian cox’s frank perry is the grizzled lifer who needs to get out after receiving some disturbing news via his first letter from the outside in many years, and cox’s portrayal of an inmate resigned to incarceration but awakened with a new-found purpose is an effective one. as an american used to seeing damian lewis (tv’s life) speak in fake american, it was great to see him drop it for his native accent and be badass as bad guy rizza. the rest of the cast, including a beefed-up joseph fiennes, successfully fill their roles as needed by the story.

the real star of the movie though is the prison itself - dublin’s kilmainham jail is a crumbling, cramped, and spatially-oppressive dungeon of a place, intentionally shot so as not to lose any of those qualities. as we’re taken from jail cells to escape tunnels and beyond, we really get a sense of the claustrophobic conditions involved in prison life and prison break.

it’s not a life-affirming sentimental take like the shawshank redemption or a classic like escape from alcatraz, but the surprising and very cool twist in the escapist elevates it from an ok movie to an enjoyable one with just a hint of an insightful message.

3.5/5 thumbs